Who You Are Without Me
by givemelovelikeklaroline
Summary: "You left me, remember! You can't keep popping in and out of my life like this! It isn't fair..." After forcing Caroline to realize her want for him, Klaus left to give her space to explore the darkness within her. Only, he can't stay away for long. Something always pulls him back to her. One-shots based off Loved in Shades of Wrong.
1. Counting the Ways

**Disclaimer: Here is the continuation of _Loved in Shades of Wrong_. This will be a series of five one-shots that occur after the end of the original fic. It's not necessary to go back and read that fic if you haven't, but it'll make more sense if you do :)**

"_These days, doesn't matter what you say,_

_I'm a mess when you're away._

_And unless you come back,_

_I'll be one step closer to insane…"_

"No, no, no! I ordered _crimson _roses, not _red_ roses! This is a prom, not an anniversary party!" Caroline told the boys bringing in the floral arrangements. Stepping up to one of them, Caroline looked him in the eye and said, "Take those back and bring me back the crimson rose arrangements I asked for, pronto."

Watching the florists van drive away, Caroline wondered if she should have put a time limit on to her command.

"Compulsion to put together prom? Didn't think you'd stoop so low."

Caroline turned to face the amusement in Stefan Salvatore's eyes. "It's _prom_, Stefan. I have waited 18 years for this! I am going to make sure every detail is perfect, right down to the strength of the toilet paper in the bathrooms.

"So no, compulsion to get the right flowers is nowhere near the low I'd stoop to ensure the flawlessness of this day," Caroline finished, putting her hands on her hips, daring him to challenge her.

Stefan put his hands up in surrender. "My mistake! God, I forgot what a control-freak you were."

Caroline narrowed her eyes at his teasing. "Is there a reason you're here, Stefan, or did you just want to critique my event planning?"

"Yeah, actually," Stefan said looking down, "I needed to- well, I wanted to… I'm taking Rebekah to the Prom and it's a really big deal for her, being her first high school dance, and I want it to be perfect for her and-"

"Oh, my God…" Caroline gasped in mock surprise. "Is Stefan Salvatore… _nervous_ about taking a girl to the prom? I've officially seen it all."

"Stop, Caroline. I'm not nervous for me. I'm nervous _for her._ She's had a millennium of tough breaks. You know that. She's just wanted somewhat of a normal life and Prom is part of that... I just-I want her to be happy."

The tenderness in his eyes as he talked about Rebekah made Caroline want to weep. Rebekah wasn't the only one who had it rough. Stefan himself had a century and a half of it and the last time she saw him care this much for a girl was Elena. With the way _that _turned out and knowing the pain he went through each day seeing his brother happy with his ex-girlfriend, Caroline was glad to see Stefan acting this way over another girl.

"Normally picking out corsages wouldn't be a problem," Stefan continued, "but Rebekah's like you. She puts emphasis in the details. And seeing all the trouble you went through with the florist, apparently flowers _are_ a big deal."

"It's okay, Stefan," Caroline said gently. "How can I help?"

Gratitude at her understanding reflected in his eyes, as he looked at her with a small smile. "Look, I know you two aren't exactly friends, but I appreciate your being kind to her. She hasn't had much of that in her life so she usually distrusts it. Lately, I've felt her coming around to trust you a little more, so I was wondering if you would know what kind of corsage she would like?"

_Ah, the dilemma of the perfect corsage_. Luckily, Caroline herself didn't have that problem as she ordered her own a month in advance.

"Yellow, open rose with white hydrangea accents, and a sheer, white bow. It'll go perfect with the dress I saw her purchasing at the mall last weekend."

Stefan stared at her in awe. "What would I do without you, Caroline?"

Caroline laughed. "Well, let's hope you never have to find out."

"I owe you one," he said turning away.

Caroline had already shifted her mind back to planning mode, when Stefan came jogging back to her. "Caroline, listen… I know you decided to go alone tonight, but I was wondering… could I get you a corsage, too? I mean, it's the least I can do-"

"Stefan," Caroline interrupted, "thank you for wanting to take care of me, but I'm okay. I've already got my corsage ordered and I've planned enough time to pick it up on my way home."

Putting on a brave smile she knew he'd see through anyway, she reiterated, "I'm okay. I've got this."

Stefan stared at her, knowing how much she'd rather have an escort but bowed down to her wishes. "All right. But if you change your mind, just give me a call."

Caroline gave him a reassuring smile, knowing there was no way she'd change her mind and become a third wheel.

As Stefan walked away, Caroline thought back to all the reasons why the top Prom Queen candidate was going to be at Prom alone.

The most significant reason being _Klaus_.

In the week she had spent with him, he turned her world on its head. He made her feel things she didn't want to feel, made her acknowledge what she thought was best left ignored. He started a thirst in her for a life far more enticing than the one she was currently living. He just… made her _want_ more.

Unfortunately for Caroline, in making her want _more_, Klaus left her wanting more from a relationship than any boy in Mystic Falls could give her. She no longer wanted to play it safe with the local boys. She wanted a guy who would indulge with her in the beauty of the world, a guy who would help her explore her true nature as a vampire.

She wanted… well, _Klaus._

But that was out of the question. Not only was he totally the wrong guy, the guy who would give her friends and family hernias if they found out about them, he was also kind of… gone.

After filling her mind with preposterous desires, Klaus up and left her. What pissed her off the most was his claim to love her. _How could he love me and still leave me? It doesn't make sense!_

He told her she needed to find herself, find out who she wanted to be and what she wanted out of life. _And then he made me want _him_ and walked away when I did. _

Caroline was still bitter at their turbulent good-bye, but mostly she had regrets. _He was right. If I gave in to my vampire instincts and didn't like who I became, then I would blame him. I would use him as an excuse to rid myself of the guilt._

_But how do I explore this side of me? _Klaus had reintroduced her to the allure of blood from the vein. The need for it coursed through her every day. Most days she suppressed the need, but there were a few days she gave in.

When the craving got too strong, Caroline would drive three towns over and pick a person from a sleazy bar. Each time she'd try to bring control to the feed, but each time she had gotten carried away and ended up leaving her prey in the hospital, suffering from severe to fatal blood loss.

The next few days she'd be good. She'd drink only from blood bags when she needed to and wouldn't think of doing anything else. She'd be so good it almost made up for her attacks. _Almost. _Then the craving would start up again, and she'd find herself repeating the cycle.

Just the thought of her indiscretions brought out the need for blood within her. Feeling the veins around her eyes pulse, Caroline bowed her head and breathed through it. _Control, Caroline, _she scolded herself. _Prom night is not the time for spiraling!_

As the need subsided, Caroline turned back to her clipboard and put all thoughts of Klaus and the urges he brought out in the furthest recesses of her mind. _I cannot let ghosts of hybrids past keep me from putting on the best Prom Mystic Falls has ever seen. _She had a reputation to uphold.

"_Now the distance gives me reason to wonder_

_How I'll recover from our farewell…"_

"Are you freaking kidding me?!" Caroline exclaimed at the florist. Not only had they messed up the flower arrangements for the event, they had also sold her corsage to someone else by accident.

"So let me get this straight, not only am I going to Prom date-less, I also have no corsage?!" she said to no one in particular. "Is the universe trying to give me the worst Prom ever, in the history of Proms? Ugh!"

Turning on her heels, Caroline tried to think happy thoughts to keep herself from snapping.

_It's okay, Caroline, _she told herself as she got her hair and make-up done. _Just think of all the people who are going to be blown away with the night you've put together for them. It's going to be a freaking fairytale. Nobody will ever forget it._

These thoughts got her through the rest of the preparation process. When she got home with her hair done in an elegant up-do that left a few strands grazing her shoulder, and her make-up looking natural and flawless, Caroline raced to her room to get into her dress and shoes.

_You're running late, Caroline! But at least you'll arrive in the most beautiful dress ever!_

Caroline looked at herself in the mirror. She wore a beautiful, strapless beaded ivory dress. It fit her perfectly, like it was made for her. The classy up-do and light make-up complimented the look perfectly. She added on delicate, dangly earrings with an equally delicate necklace to match.

_Something's missing…_

Rummaging through her drawers, Caroline tried to find something that would pair nicely with her ensemble. Frustration built inside her as she came up empty handed. _I've got nothing!_

Then she remembered an equally elegant bracelet she had gotten as a gift a year ago. Opening the box that held it safe, Caroline stared at the diamonds winking at her from their infinity shaped setting.

It was one of the only things she had left of him. This bracelet, a beautiful blue dress, and a drawing of her. It was all she had left of Klaus.

She never allowed herself to dwell on him, so she kept these items hidden from daily view. _So what if I don't have a date or a corsage? I can still wear this and pretend there is still someone who cares for me tonight._

Snapping the bracelet on carefully, Caroline stared at her wrist and smiled. _While everyone is living their fairytale tonight, I'll be living the most tragic tale of all. But nobody will know, because I will smile like I am happy and mingle like I have never felt loneliness at all. And I will be happy, _she told herself, touching the bracelet_, because I'll have a part of him with me tonight… Besides, who needs a corsage when you can have a diamond bracelet, instead?_

Shaking off her sentimental thoughts, Caroline went on her way to the event she had been preparing for all her life.

She arrived late, but made quite an entrance. The entire planning committee stopped what they had been working on and applauded their leader for the event she had put together and for looking stunning while doing it. Caroline laughed at their gesture and said, "Alright, people, let's give everyone a night they'll never forget!"

As the night progressed, Caroline watched Rebekah dancing happily on Stefan's arm, Elena and Damon dancing so wrapped up in each other, and Bonnie and Jeremy laughing while getting drinks. All while Caroline took care of the small details that made their night perfect. She tried to enjoy herself, but watching her friends, Caroline felt a tinge of jealousy.

"You know, you could have said yes to me."

Caroline turned away from watching her friends to face Matt.

"I could have, but that's not fair to either one of us. You deserve a shot at happiness and a normal life, Matt. I want that for you. You should have brought a date. A human date," she said sternly.

"Yeah, well, I didn't. See, my past two girlfriends turned into vampires, so I didn't think it'd be fair to put that kind of a curse on someone else," he joked with her.

Caroline tilted her head, staring at him in amusement. He always knew the right things to say around her. In a matter of moments, he had taken her mind off her own problems and turned it on himself, knowing she couldn't walk away from an opportunity to meddle.

"You're going to find someone perfect for you, Matt. She's going to make you so happy, you'll completely forget about the vampire girlfriends you once knew. You're going to live happily ever after. For all of us," she told him, wishing she could turn back time and be the one for him. _Life was so much simpler then. Quarterback boyfriend, head cheerleader girlfriend, I had the ideal life. What happened to us?_

Matt rolled his eyes. "Will you dance with me till then?"

Caroline smiled and accepted the hand he offered.

She may not have come as his date, but Caroline spent the rest of the evening laughing and dancing with one of her best friends, completely shedding the glum mood that had been haunting her all day.

As the night started to wind down, Caroline and Matt danced quietly to a sad slow song. The night had worn them out, so they were content to dance in a comfortable silence with her head resting on his shoulder.

Caroline's mind had wandered to the clean-up that would start in an hour when Matt suddenly stopped dancing. "Uh, Caroline," he started.

Caroline looked up at him, wondering what had happened. "I think there's someone here to see you."

Following his line of vision, Caroline turned to see the one person she had resigned herself to never seeing again. Not with the way they left things.

There outside the French doors, his face lit by the trickling lights Caroline had set up to give the outside a romantic atmosphere for the senior couples who needed to get air, stood Klaus.

Her hand slid off Matt's shoulder as her feet carried her outside without any conscious thought. By the time she reached him, he had moved deeper into the shadows. "Klaus," she called softly.

"Caroline," came his deep reply. The timbre of his voice washed over her, and she closed her eyes in the unexpected pleasure she felt.

"Open your eyes, love," he said stepping closer to her, "I have something for you."

Caroline could never resist presents, and Klaus's gifts were the most exciting of them all. Her eyes immediately popped open, causing Klaus to smile at her joy in something so easy for him to provide. _I would buy her a hundred gifts to have her look like this always. _

Taking hold of her right hand, Klaus pulled his left hand from behind his back and proceeded to tie on the most exquisite corsage Caroline had ever seen to her wrist.

In the middle sat an orchid of a soft peach color, surrounded by delicate ivory calla lilies. Threaded throughout them were pearls that matched the beading on her dress. Caroline didn't own a ton of expensive jewelry, but she knew by the luminous luster that these pearls were the real deal.

Unable to take her eyes off her wrist, Caroline said, "This is a nice surprise, after the way the florist botched my corsage order."

"That would be my doing," Klaus said, pulling his hand away. "I bought it off of them, so I could bring you this. This seemed to suit better."

_Always with the gifts and flattery. _Keeping her eyes down, she said, "I'm surprised you came back… after the way you left… the way I made you leave… I didn't think I'd see you again."

Klaus waited until she raised her uncertain eyes to him before responding. "You may be intrigued by the darkness, Caroline, but I am pulled by your light. I couldn't stay away for long."

Caroline's eyes turned skeptical as she asked, "so you're back for good now?"

He hesitated before answering firmly, "I'm back for now."

Her light dimmed, but Caroline took the moment for what it was. "Well, I'm surprised to see you here. Didn't think high school Proms were your scene."

"They're not," he agreed, "but they're your scene and I wanted to see you. I… _needed_ to see you."

The look in his eyes assured her of his desperation. All the anger and resentment she had been holding on to seeped out of her in that moment.

Indicating the faint sounds of music coming outside, Caroline asked, "since you're here, want to dance?"

Klaus smiled, relieved she wasn't going to cause a scene. "Not just yet. I have something else for you."

Caroline's eyes narrowed as he pulled a pouch out of his inner-breast pocket. Pulling something out, Klaus stepped behind Caroline and proceeded to clasp on a necklace. Looking down, Caroline saw an intricate brass locket hanging from a long silver chain.

Picking up the cage-like pendant from where it nestled between her breasts, she studied the red orb that was placed inside it. She tried to find a clasp to open it so she could study it closer.

"It doesn't open," Klaus said.

Caroline dropped the necklace and asked, "and which princess did you steal this one from?"

Klaus glanced at the bracelet on her arm that held the story of a princess. He had seen it as she danced with that human-boy, Matt-something, and knew there was still hope, that he hadn't come back in vain.

"No princess. It caught my eye one day, and I felt it belonged on you. So I bought it."

His words caused a fluttering inside her, knowing that he thought of her now and then, the way she thought of him.

"Now, may I have this dance?" he asked quietly, holding out his hands to her.

With a small smile, she placed her hand in his, and for the briefest moment it felt like all was right in her world again.

"You outdid yourself with the lights," he mentioned, pulling her closer.

"Yeah, well… I went to ball last year, and it inspired me. That night was like a fairytale… and I wanted the rest of Mystic falls High to be able to experience that kind of beauty."

The memory of that night made him smile. She had resisted him so hard, but knowing she treasured that day pleased him.

"I'm surprised to find you here with Matt instead of Tyler," Klaus commented.

Caroline missed a step at his name. "Tyler… left. With his parents gone and… the place he and I were at… he just left. Said there was nothing here for him anymore."

Klaus narrowed his eyes in disgust. "He abandoned you? Didn't even fight for you?"

Shrugging, she answered, "we both wanted different things. _I_ wanted different things."

Her eyes pleaded with him to drop the topic. His distaste for the boy grew, but he could put it aside for her. Pulling her closer to him, Klaus continued their dance.

They danced together quietly for a while, content to just bask in each other's presence.

Eventually, Caroline's curiosity got the best of her. "Did you find the cure?"

Klaus stilled for the smallest moment, before answering, "I did."

Caroline stopped altogether. "What?! What did you do with it? What about Silas?"

And just like that, their moment was over. Letting go of her hand and waist, Klaus explained. "When Elijah came back with the witch, we went in search of Katerina. We found her with her hunter, Galen Vaughn. We took them to an island where the witch knew Silas to be buried. The cure was secured within his grasp. The witch was able to wake Silas enough to loosen his hold on the cure so that I could retrieve it. Once it was in my possession, the witch sealed Silas once more. Elijah and I destroyed the caves in which he rests so nobody can reach him again. He is not a threat to any of us anymore."

"But what about Katherine?"

Klaus growled at the thought of her. "Elijah is handling her. It appears he has some lingering resentment of her escaping us 500 years ago. More so than even I do. Makes me wonder what happened between the two."

The thought confused Caroline, so she moved on to another question. "Where's the cure?"

He studied her face for a moment before answering, "it's in a safe place."

"But Klaus, Elena-"

"Doesn't want it," he finished for her.

"Look at your friends, Caroline," he said turning her so she could look inside the room. "They're all content with their lives. The cure is better left forgotten. I won't destroy it, because it can be used for a greater purpose someday, but Elena isn't it."

Turning back to face him, she asked, "what about your hybrid army? Don't you want to make any more of those?"

He was silent as he mulled the thought over. "I find I rather like being one of a kind. Nobody to question my superiority, cause a revolt, that sort of thing," he said, reminding her of what Tyler had done.

"Besides," he continued, "being around Elena would mean being around you… and neither of us is ready for that just yet."

Caroline stepped back as the anger returned. "so that's it, you're leaving again? Leaving me to wake up in the morning wondering whether you were even here or if I just wanted this moment so bad that I dreamt it up?"

"It's no dream, love." Touching the pendant that rested against her chest, he said quietly, "Wear this for me. You'll know I came back for you. That I'll always come back _for you._"

It wasn't enough for her. "You said you were leaving to protect me! I don't feel protected knowing you're worlds away!"

"You _are_ protected," Klaus said firmly, narrowing his eyes. "Rebekah knows better than to let anything happen to you. As does Stefan. If you ever feel afraid, go to them. They know how to reach me."

It hurt her that he left no way for her to go to him directly. He was purposely keeping them disconnected.

Her eyes were welling up as she asked one last time, "stay."

Klaus inhaled sharply at her plea. "Love, you know I can't… not now. You need to figure out who you are without me, because once we are together, I won't ever let you go. You'll never get this chance again."

Stepping close to her, he took her hands in his. "Wolves mate for life, Caroline," he whispered gravely. "I've found my mate, but she isn't ready to be mine just yet. I've waited a thousand years for you. I can wait a few more."

This agitated her even further. "You think you're doing this for me. You think this is what I want, but it's not!"

Bringing her hands up to his lips, Klaus placed a reverent kiss on them. "This is not what you want, but it is what you need. I'll _always_ give you what you need, Caroline. And right now, you need me to leave."

Walking backwards he called out to her one last time, "but I'll be back, sweetheart. I'll _always_ be back for you."

"_Baby, save me. Give my troubled heart_

_What it's been aching daily for._

_I'm hoping you know me enough to see that _

_I can't be alone anymore…"_

**Sooo how was it? Do I suck at one-shots? I probably do, but bear with me, only 4 more before this leads into another 10 chapter fic.**

**Also, I put a few graphics for this fic up on my tumblr (givemelovelikeklaroline). Check that out if you want :) I'll put a link to it on my profile!**

**Please review and let me know how you like this! One-shots make me extra nervous :/**

**AND next one-shot: what happens when a few years down the road, one of them develops a relationship with a mutual... friend?**


	2. I Almost Do

"_I just want to tell you,_

_It takes everything in me not to call you…"_

Every now and then in the dead of night, when everyone was too wrapped up in their own affairs to worry about her, Caroline wondered if she ever crossed his mind. In a thousand years he must have met a million girls, made love to countless of them.

She was no one special. She was just a girl who spent one pivotal week in her life with the most compelling man on the planet. _He's probably spent weeks in the arms of women ten times more beautiful than me. _

When these nightly thoughts overwhelmed her like they did tonight, she found herself crawling out from under her covers to make her way through the town, to his home. She would stand in the edges of the woods and stare at the mansion that once felt like home. Sometimes she let herself imagine him still there. _He's in his studio, so engrossed in painting, he doesn't even sense me standing outside waiting for him to come out and say, "I could never be far from where you are, love." _

Nobody had occupied it since he left a year ago. Caroline didn't think she could stand it if someone else would move in and encroach on a place that was his… _theirs._

Sometimes she wondered if she had just imagined him, imagined their time together. Was it just a dream? Was it just a wayward daydream that had gone on too long? But then she would feel the brass pendant around her neck and remember that he was here, that he came back for her. _"I'll always come back for you…"_

So why wasn't he here? Why was he letting her mind fill with doubts and uncertainties, when he could easily remedy them with his presence?

_He said he loved me,_ Caroline scoffed. _If this is his love then he can keep it._

With these bitter thoughts running through her mind, Caroline was turning away from her spot in the woods, staring at the abandoned mansion. Suddenly, she saw a light turn on in an upstairs window, causing her to falter in her step. Gaining her footing, Caroline moved forward to towards the house, hope filling her every step.

As soon as she made it out of the woods and into the clearing of his property, she felt a movement behind her. Turning with a smile on her face to greet the man who had taken up residence in her thoughts, she was startled to see another face. A face that terrified her.

"Hello, darling. Miss me?"

"_I wish I could run to you,_

_And I hope you know that_

_Every time I don't, I almost do…"_

Caroline felt the thick, warm blood coat her throat as it went down and filled her body with a dark thrill. It was wrong. _It was paradise._

Losing herself in the power of her feed, Caroline almost didn't notice the girl she held losing consciousness due to blood loss. Forcing her mouth off the girl's wrist, she looked over at her partner in crime feeding at the girl's neck.

"Hey," she nudged his shoulder, "that's enough."

Lifting his head, he looked at Caroline with a frown. Caroline wanted to laugh at his ability to look like a sullen child with blood dripping down his chin.

"You know, when I helped you learn restraint in your feed, I didn't think the restraint would have to apply to me as well," Kol complained.

Caroline gave him an admonishing look, but couldn't keep her smile from peeking through. It had been five years since he caught her standing outside Klaus' mansion. In those five years he had turned her world upside down. _Mikaelson brothers, go figure._

At first, Caroline had thought since Kol was back, it had to mean Klaus was back as well. So when he roughly pulled her wrists behind her back and tugged her towards the house, she went willingly. She'd go inside, see Klaus, and everything would be all right. Klaus would be with her again.

But when she demanded to see him, Kol only shook his head in pity. "Sorry, sweetheart, but he's long gone. Pulled the dagger out of my heart, told me Silas was buried for good and set me free on your quaint little town."

The murderous glee in his eyes scared her. _How could Klaus do this? How could he endanger the town? Endanger me?_

Fear made her step back, closer to the door. Kol took pity and relented. Rolling his eyes, he clarified, "relax, Caroline. I'm under strict orders not to let harm come to you or your friends. Klaus threatened with a fate worse than a dagger, so I'll abide by his wishes. _For now."_

Walking up to her, Kol put his arm around her shoulders and guided her inside the sitting room, as if they were old friends. Seating her on one of the couches, Kol went to rummage through the liquor cabinet.

"So tell me, my dear, what monstrous act kept you from accepting my brother's affections? With the way he was acting, I had thought I'd find you two a happy couple upon my waking."

Caroline realized that Klaus hadn't told Kol anything about them. Just that she wasn't to be harmed. _If Klaus trusts him enough to let him roam here without supervision, then I guess he can't be that bad. _

"Klaus's leaving wasn't my choice. It was his. He said I needed space to explore 'my darkness,' whatever that means," she said throwing her hands in the air in frustration.

Intrigued by her dilemma, Kol poured them both a drink and sat down next to her to pry a little more. "And what have you done to fulfill his request?"

Taking the drink from his hands, Caroline downed the whiskey in one gulp. "Nothing. I even gave up college to stay here and come up with something… someway I can do what he thinks I need to do. I just haven't come up with anything that will let me live with myself."

Looking over at him, Caroline narrowed her eyes, "I'm not like you guys. I can't just feed and not care about the people I'm hurting in the process. Believe me, I've tried. It just… it doesn't feel right."

Bringing his glass to his lips, Kol tried to hide the glee building inside him. "Don't worry your pretty little head over it, darling. You're in my hands now. I know just what to do. I'm going to take good care of you."

And he had. She had spent the next five years learning to control her feed. Kol didn't care for control. He didn't mind getting lost in the euphoric taste of blood, but Caroline made it a stipulation that if she was going to do as he said, then he had to promise to keep their prey alive.

So far, so good.

Leaning over the limp girl between them now, she wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. _He is such a sloppy eater,_ she smiled to herself. Glancing up at his eyes, Caroline noticed a haze of desire clouding his eyes. It wasn't the first time, and it wouldn't be the last.

She sighed and pulled away. This wasn't the time or place to discuss what was going on between them. Standing up, she cleared her throat and said, "hurry up and heal her. I'm tired and I want to go home."

Kol didn't like her evasion, but complied. As he went about getting some blood down the weak girl's throat, Caroline looked over her shoulder at the window of the abandoned bar. She could see clear into the empty street, but Caroline could have sworn she felt someone watching them.

Anxiety built inside her. They couldn't risk having someone discover what they had been doing in here. Turning back to Kol, she said, "I think she's had enough. She'll survive. Let's go."

Kol raised his eyebrows at Caroline's urgency, but placed the girl on the bar and followed her out the door.

About a year after Kol breezed into town and redefined Caroline's life, she moved into Klaus' mansion with him. Her mother and friends didn't understand what her life was becoming like he did. Nobody else kept her as grounded.

But that's not why she moved in with him. She moved in to be closer to Klaus. Even though he wasn't around, she felt his presence in every room. Being there, she could recall each memory vividly. It was her sweetest torture.

Walking into the house, Caroline headed straight for his studio. Kol knew it to be her favorite room, as he often heard her moving around in there sometimes at night. Lately, every time he heard her rustling through the hundreds of sketchbooks Klaus had left behind, he felt a sort of jealousy rise within him. He told himself it was preposterous to feel anything for her, his brother's only salvation, but his heart rebelled against the thought.

Standing in the doorway of the studio, Kol watched as Caroline fiddled with the deserted brushes. "You can't keep running away from me, you know."

Caroline didn't pretend to misunderstand. The past five years had been building up to this moment. Her friends and family had seen it coming. Hell, she had even seen it coming, but she didn't care.

Stefan had questioned her judgment when it came to Kol, but she had defended him. Stefan was becoming quickly wrapped up in his own relationship, and Caroline was left alone. Kol gave her the support nobody else could provide. She needed him, and she liked to think he needed her as well; that she made him a better person.

Rebekah was the only one who had encouraged her connection with Kol, saying maybe this would show Klaus what he was missing. Caroline wanted her to be right, but she gave up on that hope 3 years ago.

Now here was another man, equally as compelling as his older brother, but what she felt for them both was vastly different.

Klaus made her yearn, made her want more from life. He was a promise of all the possibilities the world offered. Kol made her strong, made her believe that she had the power to overcome any obstacle. He was simply her life. Without him, she'd be back in that hole Klaus had left her in, trying to find her balance again.

She couldn't lose him. She couldn't lose Kol.

"Kol," she began.

"No, Caroline," he said stepping up behind her to grasp her shoulders. Kneading the muscles, Kol tried to reason with her. "Stop pushing me away. I know you miss Klaus, but he isn't here. For the life of me, I will never know how he could leave you, but I'm here, darling. And I'm not going anywhere."

Gently turning her around, Kol peered into her eyes searching for answers. "There's something here, Caroline. I don't know what it is, but I know you feel it too." Resting his forehead against hers, he softly whispered, "Give us a chance. Just give in."

"_Give in, sweetheart."_

The words echoed through her mind like a gunshot. She had given in to Klaus only to have him walk away from her. She didn't think she could stand being abandoned again.

"I'm not going anywhere, Caroline. You won't be rid of me easily," Kol reiterated, almost as if he read her mind. Being around her for five years, he almost could. He knew her better than most. Caroline smiled at the thought.

_He's not Klaus. Sure, he can't unravel me the way his brother does, but that also means he won't destroy me either. And he won't just leave me. _

Staring into his eyes, Caroline decided to give in to her mind and leaned closer to press her lips to his. There were no fireworks, but the kiss felt like one of those cold Saturday mornings when she was a child and her parents would wrap her in a blanket and cuddle her in front of the TV while they watched cartoons. She felt wanted, protected, and cherished. It brought out another one of her "Kol smiles" as Elena had dubbed them. The kind only Kol could bring to her face.

Pulling away, Kol's eyes glittered with a brighter desire seeing the smile on her face. When he reached for her again, Caroline stepped away. "Baby steps," she said.

Giggling at his chastised face, she leaned closer once more to place a light peck on his lips. _He's just so freaking adorable sometimes. Who knew I'd ever call a certified lunatic adorable?_

She had started to turn away again when she felt that odd sensation run down her spine again. It was the same feeling she had gotten back at the bar. Only this time she had a suspicion.

"Listen, we'll get back to this-"

"Back to us," Kol interrupted.

Rolling her eyes, Caroline corrected herself, "back to us, but I'm going to head out for a bit right now. There's someone I need to see."

Kol raised his eyes at her need for a sudden departure but nodded and moved out of her way.

As she walked out of the room, Caroline looked over her shoulder and wondered how she had ever gotten by without him.

Thoughts of Kol left her mind the second she stepped out of the house. With one name running through her mind, Caroline raced into the middle of the woods. Finding a clearing, she stopped and looked around. "I know you're here. You can come out now."

Caroline had thought she'd be ready to face him again after all this time, but his presence hit her lie a brick wall. "Hello, love."

Up until he spoke she had only been running on hope, that maybe he was here. Maybe he did care. Seeing him standing before her, speaking to her… she had imagined it so many times, how their reunion would go, it almost felt surreal.

"Klaus."

His signature smirk spread across his face. Caroline hated the way it still affected her. "You've been following me. Why?"

Walking up to her, with his hands clasped behind his back, he said, "I think I should be the one asking questions, seeing as how you're living in my home, but I see Kol is with you."

Narrowing his eyes at her, he asked, "friends now, are you?"

She wasn't going to discuss Kol with him. "What Kol and I are is none of your business."

"On the contrary, love," he said taking yet another step closer to her, "everything about you is my business."

"Oh, you think so, huh? Well, let me tell you, you lost any right you had to me when you walked away six years ago, and then again on Prom. You and I have nothing to talk about anymore, so why don't you go find another one of your little playthings and go bother her."

Klaus stared at her for a moment. And then he moved.

Before Caroline could guess his intention, she found herself pushed up against a tree and Klaus's mouth was devouring her. At first she couldn't believe this was happening, but then she gave in to the spark he had once again ignited in her.

Wrapping her legs around his waist, Caroline kissed him back with a fever that had haunted her for six years. Six years of want exploded in a kiss that took her breath away. Tangling her fingers into the curls she adored, Caroline tugged on his hair to change the angle of the kiss.

Klaus complied for a bit, giving the girl whose thoughts kept him up at night what she wanted. Pressing closer to her, he tried to imprint her every curve into his body. He wanted her to mark his body as she had marked his mind.

Trailing his lips from her mouth to her neck, he spoke roughly, "you can't replace this, Caroline. There is no substitute for the magic between us."

Barely registering the words, Caroline arched her back against the tree, inviting him to take more of her. "I've tried, love," he said between placing kisses down her neck, "I tried to find another, to erase this-" moving his mouth up to her ear, "but we're a force, Caroline. There's nothing like this out there," punctuating each phrase with a kiss, he continued, "you won't find it anywhere else. Not even with Kol."

The sound of his name broke through her haze. Putting her legs down, Caroline pushed him away from her. "How dare you," she said in a quiet fury.

"Caroline," Klaus growled, frustrated at her refusing him his pleasure.

"No! You listen to me, Klaus. _You _left _me, remember? You_ walked away from us. You can't keep popping in and out of my life like this! It isn't fair!" she exclaimed, tears pooling in her eyes.

"What did you expect me to do? Just sit around and wait for you to declare it's finally time for us? When will that be, by the way?" she asked rhetorically.

"I tried for you. I tried so hard to be what you thought I could be, to fulfill the potential you saw in me, but I couldn't do it. Not until Kol. He has helped me more than you could imagine. He made me as strong as I am today. What you _thought_ I could do, Kol helped me actually do it. I can control my feed now. I can do so much more than you can imagine. All thanks to Kol."

Klaus clenched his jaw at the mention of his brother. He didn't like the way she said his name, as if Kol was her salvation. Kol could only ever ruin a person, not save them.

But Caroline wasn't done. "He has been there for me for the past five years. Where have you been, huh, Klaus? Out painting one of you infinite landscapes?"

"You," Klaus said, stopping her tirade. "For the past six years, all I've painted is you."

His confession cracked her defensive exterior. Closing her eyes at the onslaught of emotions he brought on, Caroline tried to take a deep calming breath. "Do you know why I live there with him?" she asked softly.

Klaus just stared at her quietly, hoping she was done turning him away.

Opening her eyes, she explained, "it's because of you. Kol asked me to move in there with him because he knew how much I liked being around what was yours. I'd go to Kol on the ruse of visiting him or needing his help, but he saw right through it. He saw how I'd go quiet in the middle of our conversations, because I had lost myself in thoughts of you. I think back to all our memories, every conversation we had in that house… and Kol lets me. He understands me and gives me what I need."

Staring at him, Caroline shook her head softly, "and you, Klaus, took away the one thing I needed most: you."

Stepping back she said, "you walked away from me and now you expect to what? Walk away from Kol?" she asked as if it were the most absurd idea ever.

"I can't do that to him. I can't do to him what you did to me. It hurts too much."

It was Klaus's turn to be angry. Stalking up to her, Klaus grasped her arms and pulled her in for a final furious kiss. Caroline knew he was marking her, but what he didn't know was that she had been marked by him years ago.

Moving his hand to the chain that peeked out around her neck, Klaus pulled out the pendant he had given her from its place under her shirt. Seeing that she still wore it, gave him back the confidence she had shaken.

"Mine, Caroline. You're mine. Go ahead. Go back to Kol. But mark my words, love, you'll see eventually that he won't be enough for you. Nobody will. You're mine."

Dropping the necklace to rest against her chest again, Klaus turned and walked away from her.

Caroline stood there for a long while afterwards wondering if he knew just how much she wanted his words to be true, how badly she had wanted to be just his.

One thing she knew for certain though: this was the last time he ever walked away from her.

"_I confess, baby, in my dreams you're touching my face,_

_And asking me if I want to try again with you,_

_And I almost do…"_

**I'm leaving today for a 4 day trip to NY this weekend, but because of all the amazing reviews I got for the last one-shot, I just couldn't leave without updating for you guys! Thank you so much to:**

**wowokthanks, , jessnicole, Lady Lightning, Sam0728, Mystery Girl3, nfinneman, justine, Quicklove202, samtastical, RAG21, .5, DeanKlausObsessedlover, KlarolinexDelenaxx, Sad Olive, Trish, Booklover9477, and the Guests!**

**Also, FYI I'm a hardcore Klaroline and Kennet shipper, but after writing this chapter I don't even know anymore lol. Kol and Caroline would be kinda cute together, I think ;) And did you notice how in my world Kol is still alive? It'll stay that way, too!**

**There were so many directions I wanted to take this, so many depths I wanted to explore, but for the sake of the story this is it :/**

**Sorry I don't have the time to make graphics for this one-shot :( Maybe when I get back from my trip? That is of course, if anyone really wants to see them?**

**Now please leave me some amazing reviews to come back to! Pretty please?! Thanks in advance!**

**P.S. when I update my next chapter I'm going to change my username here to match my tumblr url: givemelovelikeklaroline. Just to make things easier on me! Hope you guys don't mind!**


	3. Fallin'

"_I keep on falling in and out _

_Of love with you._

_I never loved someone_

_The way that I love you…"_

"_There's a whole world out there… waiting for you."_

Of all the memories she had of him, his promise of the world beyond Mystic Falls haunted her the most. And at times, when she realized memories were all she had left of him, Caroline let herself resent him for abandoning her. _He promised the world and left me alone in it. _

But it was okay. _She _was okay. She had left that Caroline behind in Mystic Falls. The girl that wanted others, _needed_ others, no longer existed. Caroline had learned to take care of herself. And to prove it, she left all the baggage she carried behind fifteen years ago in that miserable little town.

_They think I'm losing my mind._ Stefan had tried to stop her, said all that she loved was in that town. Matt even tried. Her mom begged. But she couldn't stay, not for another second.

When Klaus had left her staring after him once again in the woods, Caroline had walked home quietly seething. Kol had taken one look and known instantly that something was off.

"Caroline, what's wrong? Who did you go meet?"

"I need to leave," was her quiet response.

"Leave?" Kol asked, confused by the drained look on her face. "But you just got back. Now who do you have to meet?"

"No, Kol," she said, finally facing him with desperation clear on her face. "I need to get out of this town. This place, these people…"

"Caroline. Stop," Kol commanded, shaking her out of the panic she seemed to be in. When her eyes cleared up, he tried to get through to her again. "Who did you go meet?" he asked again.

A flash of guilt went across her features before she admitted, "Klaus."

Kol pulled back in shock, but then understanding set in. Taking a seat, Caroline saw the shutters come down his eyes as he veiled his emotions from her. "Ah, so big brother got a whiff of someone treading on grounds he considers his? And I assume that's why you need to leave? Klaus is back and second best is no longer necessary. Tell me, Caroline, do you need to escape the town or me?"

His bitterness surprised her, and she shook her head to clear it. "Kol, no, you don't understand-"

"I understand perfectly, sweetheart. It's been six years, and you're still drawn to my pathetic excuse of a brother. It just baffles me that you would still want someone who could leave you so easily."

"I'm not leaving with him!" Caroline exploded in an effort to shut Kol up. "In fact, he's already gone!"

Not apologizing for his dramatics, Kol narrowed his eyes and asked, "then why are you running?"

Caroline didn't know how to explain the frustration that Klaus had built inside her. "I just have to… Klaus is gone. Why am I still here? Why am I still here waiting on a man that isn't coming back? I've been trying to hold onto him… to what we had for those few days. All for what? So that he can just waltz back into my life any time he damn well pleases?!"

Unable to stay seated, Caroline stood up and started pacing in her agitation. "He'll never get the chance to leave me again, because I'm not going to be here waiting for him anymore."

Turning to Kol, Caroline let out her first smile since her return. "I'm leaving, Kol. Come with me."

Kol studied the determination in her eyes. "You're running. From Klaus." Coming to a decision, Kol took the seat Caroline had just vacated, preparing for the fight he knew was coming. "Sorry, darling, but I've played that game already. I spent centuries running away with my brother. I'm not about that anymore."

"You don't get it," Caroline said, grabbing his hand. "Klaus is out there. He put all these thoughts in my head, all these desires… I didn't want any of it! I had a good life before him. I had love… He took all of that and made it seem pointless compared to what he would give me. And now he's gone. And I'm still here wanting all of those things. I need to show him that I'm better off without him. _I don't need him._"

Kol understood perfectly. "You want to stick it to Klaus? Then stay. Stay here… with me. Build a life for yourself. Nothing infuriates Niklaus like watching others have what he's always wanted: love, loyalty, family, and friends." Cupping her cheek with one hand, Kol tried one more time. "You have that here… Just stay."

Caroline stared at him in silence. Taking a moment, she said goodbye to the face that she had grown to love. Kol made her comfortable and he helped her become stronger as a vampire, but he didn't understand her wants and needs. Not the way Klaus did.

And that will always be what separated her affections for Kol and her weakness for Klaus. She was a vampire. Spending an eternity being comfortable did not sound as appealing as the thrills Klaus promised her. She needed to experience the world. And if Klaus wasn't going to show it to her, then she'd see it for herself.

She didn't want Klaus anyway.

"_How do you give me so much pleasure?_

_Cause me so much pain?"_

Klaus had never wanted anyone or anything the way he wanted Caroline Forbes. He quickly came to the realization that he never would.

Caroline was not just a desire for him. She had become a need, a constant ache in his mind and body. Time and distance did nothing to erase this.

But he tried. He tried everything he could to forget about her. In a thousand years, Klaus had known many women. Some he took pleasure in, others provided his sustenance. Yet, even with the years apart, Caroline remained his answer for both needs.

No matter how many women he tried to lose himself in, it was always Caroline's face that brought him pleasure. No matter how many women he drank his fill of, his body craved Caroline.

Klaus Mikaelson was immortal, but he was dying in the need of one girl.

It was pathetic.

_What will it take to forget her? _He thought to himself as he searched the crowded bar for his next prey. _All these centuries I spent never needing a single being, and in the course of a few months Caroline has totally bewitched me. Unacceptable._

His eyes scanned the women dressed to impress scattered throughout the room. He caught a few of them glancing his way, but none of them sparked an interest. _Not like Caroline does._

The night was turning out to be a bust. Klaus sighed as no prospect intrigued him. Giving up, he took stock of how well the bar was running that night.

He had bought the bar shortly after moving back here to New Orleans. It wasn't the bar he was particularly interested in, but rather it was the business he had running underneath. The better the bar ran for the locals, the better it was for his more _lucrative_ business.

Satisfied with what he saw, Klaus decided to call it a night. Making his way to the door, Klaus shut his mind off to the thoughts of the girl he couldn't replace. And for a second it worked.

Because in that second, the door he was walking towards opened up to let in a beautiful blonde woman whose eyes went immediately to him. Instantly Klaus knew he had found what he was looking for that night.

_His next prey._

_Grace_, she said her name was. _A pretty name for a pretty girl, _he had told her_. _Klaus took his time with Grace, but he didn't stop until he had wined, dined, and seduced the girl into his bed.

Only, she wasn't Grace when her head fell back on his pillow. The long curls were shortened, the sharp features had softened, and all Klaus could see was _Caroline._

It was his Caroline reaching out to him. His Caroline smiling up at him. Caroline who raked her nails down his back. Caroline who breathed his name. Caroline who sighed in pleasure.

_Caroline. Caroline. Caroline._

"Who's Caroline?" Grace asked as Klaus collapsed next to her.

Turning his head, Klaus glared at her audacity to speak Caroline's name. "This was fun, love, but if you value your life I suggest you leave now."

But the girl couldn't leave. Something about the tortured look on his angelic face caused her to reach out and try to soothe him.

Her mistake.

Klaus didn't ask twice. Instead, he pulled her over his lap and placed a kiss on her neck. As her head tilted back, filling his hands with the curls that weren't Caroline's, Klaus bit in and drank.

He drank until there was nothing left in her body to give. Then he placed her back on the bed, as he got up to walk to the canvas set up in the corner of his room. Letting the thoughts of Caroline that plagued him throughout the day overwhelm him, Klaus brought his paint brush to the bare canvas.

And this was it. This was his life in the past years since Caroline.

In a thousand years Klaus had learned to control his urges. He didn't need to rut like a dog every day, but he never made any claims to celibacy. Though, try as he might, he couldn't get Caroline's face out of his head even when he was with another woman. He had yet to find a woman who could help him forget the alluring girl he left behind.

Every woman he indulged in would leave him feeling hollow. To drive out the feeling he'd lose himself in his art, always hoping that if he painted enough, one day he'll have spent all the emotions he had and finally find peace in numbness.

"_Just when I think _

_I've taken more than would a fool,_

_I start fallin' back in love with you…"_

All this time Klaus was trying to forget her, Caroline had managed to put him out of her mind almost completely. _Almost. _Travelling the world, Caroline had seen breathtaking waterfalls, explored hidden caves, and tasted exotic food. And people.

Her life had become all that she had wanted it to be, all that Klaus had told her it could be. But there it was. Klaus. She could run from him forever, but at night, as she thought over her adventures of the day, she thought if this was the life Klaus had imagined for her. _What else would he want for me?_

She would turn over and bury her head in her pillow, hating herself for still letting him have control of her life. She had hoped that once she had owned the enticing life he described, the hold he had in her mind would dissipate. No such luck.

Just when the mindless adventures got boring, Caroline got a call from an old friend. _Bonnie_. She needed to do some research on an extreme form of magic, and it required traveling. Was Caroline down for it?

_God, yes. _Just because she left Mystic falls, didn't mean she didn't miss her friends and family. She had seen Stefan and Rebekah every now and then as they also liked to go on their own adventures, but she hadn't seen Bonnie in a few years, and she missed her. _So freaking bad._

So when Bonnie suggested a Euro-trip, Caroline was more than ready. She hadn't been able to bring herself to visit Rome, Paris, or Tokyo, afraid that thoughts of him would overwhelm her until she had to seek him out, but maybe with Bonnie it wouldn't be so bad.

They met up in Ireland, where the druids once dwelled. Bonnie was now 40, but still looked like the young woman Caroline left behind 15 years ago. "Looking good, Bon." Caroline commented.

"I didn't know I was vain until Damon pointed out that I was fast approaching my wrinkling stage. I decided to use magic to delay aging. I mean , if I got it, why not use it?"

Caroline laughed, but asked quietly, "You still see Damon and Elena? How are they?"

Bonnie saw the ache in Caroline's eyes for the friends she left behind. "You could come home and see for yourself, but they're good. Damon's annoying as always, but Elena's happy."

Caroline nodded and asked after the one person she missed the most. "And Kol?"

This one made Bonnie pause, causing Caroline's mind to play through a thousand unwelcome scenarios. "Kol is… Kol," Bonnie shrugged. "He stuck around for a few years after you left, but once Stefan and Rebekah started moving around, Kol left as well. He comes back every now and then, hoping to find you back I think. He seems more and more frustrated every time, but that's his life now."

_This was not what I wanted for him._ Caroline realized she could have called and asked after him herself, the way she did with her other friends and her mom, but remembering the way she left him, Caroline couldn't bring herself to introduce the pain in his life that Klaus had brought to hers.

"Well," Caroline said, needing to shift topics, "now that we're caught up, Europe awaits!"

They settled into a routine, going from city to city. Bonnie would search out scholars of the supernatural world, and if force was needed for cooperation, Caroline would accompany her. If not, Caroline would spend the day at a nearby beach or exploring the local museums.

By the time they made it to Paris, Caroline had seen so much culture, she couldn't help but thirst for more. So when Bonnie went to seek out her next mystical doctor, Caroline went to the place she had always wanted to go. The Louvre.

Seeing the legendary artworks in person was a breathtaking experience for Caroline. _I'm actually here. I'm actually getting to see the world._

She was on a high she could barely contain. She went from paintings to sculptures and back until her face started to hurt from the smile that kept on growing.

And then she saw it and her world started crumbling to ruins around her.

It was newer than most of the art, but she could tell it was a couple decades old. 22 years to be exact. It was a painting of the Falls back home, but none would be able to recognize it. It was painted from a riveting view only available to a select few: the Mikaelsons and her.

_Klaus._ He was here. Maybe not now, but he had been here. This was the closest she had been to him in the past 15 years, and it brought all the emotions he evoked rushing back to her.

Needing more, Caroline compelled her way to the office of the museum curator. "_Zut alors_! May I help you, _mademoiselle_?" asked the startled man, as she barged into the room.

"'_Place of Falls.' _the artist…. Do you have more?" Caroline asked desperately.

"_S'il vous plait_, you cannot make such demands in an unsavory manner, _mademoiselle_," the man explained in his irritated French accent. "You must make an appointment!"

Losing patience, Caroline compelled. "Show me what else you have of the artist. _Now."_

The man gave a slow nod and walked her down a few hallways into an area with four security measures. Caroline raised her eyebrows at the precautions, but followed him quietly as he led her in to an archive of the museum's collection.

Maneuvering through the maze of aisles, the curator paused in front of a large case that he opened to reveal just one painting. "This is it. This is all we have. It was part of a collection containing the same subject, but the artist would only part with this one."

Stunned to silence, Caroline managed to utter, "leave."

As the curator made his way out of the room, Caroline sank to the floor, unable to handle the onslaught of emotions.

The painting was dark. Black. In the middle of the canvas was a golden couple, lost in each other's passionate embrace. The woman's blonde hair was swept over one shoulder, revealing her bare back to the viewer. Buried in the crook of her neck was the man who couldn't pull away from the woman. His arms wrapped around her, placing one hand on the small of her back while the other cradled her head.

And there was blood. Everywhere. Dripping down her back, seeping through his fingers, pooling beneath them. Caroline could only stare.

She didn't need to see the _NM_ initials in the corner to know that this was indeed Klaus's work. She saw the evidence in every stroke of the brush.

_I can't keep running from him. He'll always be there… a part of me._ She could fight the feeling. She could manage to distract herself for a few days. But like the pendant he tied around her neck, Klaus was always with her. Out of sight, but always present.

He wasn't her _right now_, but he was her _forever_. It was time she stopped running from him and accepted her fate. She could spend an eternity resenting him, but if he stood in front of her right now, she'd want him all over again.

This was a fact she no longer wanted to change.

**Sorry for the late update! A lot of you didn't like the Kol angle I took. Sorry :/ Kol won't be a focus of this story, but it'll come in again later on. Please remember that the little details I place in each one-shot will actually be important in the next part of this story. These one-shots are just a set-up for the real story. I'm trying to give Klaroline a darker edge from here on out, don't know if I'm succeeding.**

**Also, somebody pointed out that my characters are OOC. I hope you understand that these characters are set years into the future and have gone through different experiences than the characters on the show, so they will be out of character a bit. I just hope it's not too much OOC, because I'd rather quit right now than make my characters anything other than who I fell in love with.**

**Thank you for those who like this story and keep on reading and reviewing! I go nuts reading them each time :) Thanks to:**

**KlarolinexDelenaxx, kacomu, justine, holl2712, el, patie, glevez25, MoriartyandHisTardis, jessnicole, HelloCutePanda, TwistedType, Mystery Girl3, Laney-Dee, MyBrokenButterfly, Sam0728, Chetopat, Ktclaire99, Hazel21, Booklover9477, Guardian Izz, michaela88, TMPR, and all the guests!**

**Please keep leaving me reviews to let me know that this story is still worth sticking with! Sometimes I go through rough patches in my writing, but these reviews keep me coming back :)**

**So review, please and thank you!**

**P.S. sorry about not having any Klaroline interaction here, but if I ever get the next one-shot out, it'll be all Klaroline! And can someone let me know if I have or if I do dip into the M rating status, because I'm never sure :/ I'm trying not to go there, but oops?**


	4. Lady Day

**I'll explain myself at the end, promise! Just read first! And yes, there's Klaroline in this... just wait for it ;)**

"_Her eyes like fire and ice, _

_Her words sharper than a knife,_

_Her hands are ever so cold,_

_But her voice is like wine and roses…"_

She picked it up easy, the stealing thing. A voice like fine wine and a face like an angel. She was practically designed for this life.

It wasn't something Caroline set out to do, but after 40 plus years of being 17, one tends to get a little bored.

She started out small. Picked a few pockets here and there, just to see if she could get away with it. Then she went shopping… with her own type of discount. Only, it wasn't as fun, stealing something she could easily buy. That's when she met Kieran.

Kieran made a living "_acquiring" _artifacts and whatever else a client would be willing to pay a hefty sum for. He happened to notice Caroline one day, as she lifted a particularly sexy pair of red Blahnik's from a store he had been told to meet a client at. Many clients asked to meet him in public places, and this particular client wanted to get all their Christmas shopping done in one place.

It didn't matter to Kieran. Money was money.

But when he saw a blonde beauty trying on a pair of shoes and promptly walking out in them, his client was forgotten. He watched from behind a rack of shoes as she walked towards the exit only to be stopped by the security guard at the door. Mumbling a few words he couldn't hear, she stared the guard down and walked out.

He suspected there was something special about her… Something that closely resembled the type of people he had been known to do business with. _A vampire_, he thought to himself. Kieran followed her until she stopped at a popular local bar.

Years of doing business with the most dangerous creatures to prowl the Earth made him proficient in observing his target without them having a clue. She never noticed as he took a seat at the bar a few stools down, never noticed as his eyes flickered when she threw her hair over her shoulder turning to flirt with the guy next to her. Never noticed as he licked his lips when she picked her prey for the night.

Her innocent beauty a far greater weapon than anything her nature bestowed upon her, he knew then and there that he had to have her.

Kieran allowed her to enjoy her more desirable meal as she drained him in the dark alley outside, before approaching her. "Shoot," he heard her mutter when the man she had just made a meal of refused to respond to her. "Not again."

"Thirty-seven seconds," he spoke, coming out of the shadows to approach her. "You made quick work of that poor fool."

Caroline turned on him, baring her fangs. Kieran was amused at how strongly his body responded to a woman with blood dripping from her lips. With a small smirk, he came to a stop three feet away from her. Dropping his eyes pointedly to her newly procured shoes, he continued, "but I guess stealing does work up an appetite."

Caroline didn't know who this man with the smooth Gaelic accent was, but he was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sizing him up in one glance, she noticed he was tall and lean, with wavy, auburn hair that settled just above his shoulders. He was dressed casually, but impeccably, in black slacks and a gray shirt under his black overcoat.

Class. The man oozed class.

She didn't know how he knew about her shoes, but she knew that he wasn't going to make it out of this alley to let her secret slip. Her hunger had made her careless in her feed again. She felt bad about the poor guy lying on the ground behind her. She hadn't meant to kill him when she brought him out here. But she wouldn't feel a hint of regret at ending this impertinent man's life.

"If you know what I am, you should know better than to sneak up and antagonize me," Caroline snarled at him.

"Well, I've been 'sneaking' for quite some time. I only stayed back because I wanted to see what you're capable of," he said, walking around her to get a closer look at his newest protégé. "Seeing you in all your glory… well, I simply had to know you, my dear."

Caroline wasn't sure what to make of the man. _Friend or foe?_

"You're human," she said, looking him over again. "A pretty stupid human, too. You know, I could kill you before you could blink."

"Hmmm. You could," he said coming to a stop two feet away from her. "But you haven't yet. And you won't, either."

Caroline lifted her chin, surprised by the man's audacity, "and what makes you so sure?"

The man licked his full lips and leaned towards her to whisper, "you're bored, sweetheart, and looking for adventure." The flickering of her eyes told him he hit his mark. "And I'm about to give you a life you've only dreamed of."

Caroline saw the promise in his eyes and dared him to deliver. And that was that.

She was a killer by nature, but Kieran had made a far greater weapon out of her. He taught her the tricks of his trade until he no longer knew who the student was.

Truth was, Caroline just wanted to impress him. Being a 27 year-old human, he had seen and experienced more of the world than she had in her sixty years. His business had taken him all over the world, got him stuck in situations she still didn't know how he got out of, and yet here he was. Living the life she always dreamt of.

So anything he taught, she took in willingly and tried to make him proud.

At first he took her on his trips with him. He taught her how to get into the most secured places undetected. He taught her how to verify the legitimacy of the artifacts, and then replace it with replicas that were good enough to get by for months before anyone suspected anything.

When she had gotten the hang of it, he sent her on jobs on her own. He would direct her from his home office in Chicago. When the job was complete, he'd fly her back home and they'd celebrate together.

During down-time, they'd laze around his Gold Coast penthouse, overlooking the beach and the breathtaking Chicago skyline. Sometimes he'd take her out in the town, but mostly they just enjoyed each other's company.

Caroline hadn't been looking for a relationship when she had first started working with Kieran. But he surprised her. She had been looking for a distraction from the man who never left her thoughts. Kieran… just crept into her heart anyway. Where he inspired her, she aroused him. Where he enticed her, she responded to him.

In the end, their coming together was inevitable. But anytime a little voice told her Kieran was just a substitute for the man she really wanted, she shut her mind off to the world and fell just a little more in love with the man she had.

Love. _That's what it is when two beings have been inseparable for the past 3 years, right?_ Caroline asked herself. _When every waking moment is spent either with him or wanting to be with him?_

"Another job came on the line, sweetheart," Kieran interrupted her thoughts as he walked out of his office.

Caroline kneeled on the sofa to twine her arms around his neck as he came up to her. "But Kieran… we don't need another job. You're rolling in money as it is. Why do you keep taking on more work?" she asked a little sulkily.

"To keep you on your toes, my dear," he replied with his crooked smile, pushing her down into the cushions as he fell on top of her.

It wasn't that she minded the work. She just wanted more time at home with the man in her arms. Kieran only ever took a couple weeks off in between jobs.

Once, she was lucky enough to have an entire month at home with him. An entire month of lounging and going dancing when the mood struck her. She would go out to feed on the never-ending supply of locals, while he would be at home preparing a more traditional meal for her to show off his surprising culinary talent. It was an ideal vacation for her, but she noticed him getting a little antsy towards the end there.

And it wasn't even like he needed the work. After fifteen years of working in the black market, Kieran had built up a small fortune and quite the reputation. His services didn't come cheap. And by association, neither did she. But he wouldn't just retire. He couldn't. It was like an addiction with him.

That night, as they lay wrapped up in each other, their bodies pleased and sufficiently sated, he asked her to turn him. Caroline had been stunned to say the least. "Why would you want that?" she asked, lifting her head off his chest to face him.

Lifting himself on an elbow, he countered, "don't _you_ want that? We can have an eternity together, Caroline. An immortal Bonnie and Clyde."

His voice was wondrous, and for a second Caroline considered it. In the end, Caroline had to be honest. "I've never turned anyone before, Kieran, and you're not going to be the first."

His eyes flickered for a second to hide any emotion from her, but it wasn't fast enough to disguise the hurt. His jaw worked as he slowly nodded and responded, "I see."

_God, he frustrated her._ Pushing him down into his pillow, Caroline straddled him. "No. You don't see. This stealing gig? It's fun, but it's not something you want to spend an eternity doing."

Leaning down, Caroline braced her arms next to his head so he could see how serious she was. "You want me to turn you so you can continue this life forever. It gets boring, Kieran. _Trust me._ Everything gets boring after a while…"

His brow creased. Caroline could see the skepticism in his stormy gray eyes. Running her fingers across his forehead to smooth it, she tried again. "Find another reason to live. And _then_ maybe we can re-visit this conversation, okay?"

Her words caused his eyes to glint dangerously with hope. "One last job?" he asked.

Rolling her eyes, Caroline sighed. Pecking his lips, she agreed. "One last job."

"_Her smile's both pleasure and pain,_

_And her guns are always loaded…"_

Over the centuries, Klaus had done a little bit of everything. He had taken years to travel and enjoy a life of leisure, spent decades indulging in debauchery, but he most enjoyed the times he contributed to world progression.

Whether it be land or business empires, Klaus loved having something to rule. He had gotten distracted by that hybrid business during his time in Mystic Falls, but now he was back on track, making the world go round in his own right.

He had a hold in many ventures throughout the world. Some were cover-ups for other dealings, and some were more precious to him than others. These days he was focusing on his more minor operations.

"I trust everything is taken care of?" Klaus asked the man standing before him.

"Everything has been arranged to your liking, sir. I've made sure of it," the man responded, only slightly quaking at the thought of a mishap occurring in Klaus Mikaelson's presence.

"Excellent. I'll be off then."

Klaus left the man's office and turned the corner to the main area of the gallery. He was about to exit the building when he saw a flash of gold out of the corner of his eye, making his skin prickle.

All he had to do was open the door and walk out. He could go on living his life in the same dissatisfied way he had been living for the past three decades. A life he had gotten used to.

But he couldn't walk out. Not when he knew how close she was. Not when his body couldn't help but yearn to be near the one it craved.

So he turned around and followed the flash into a room consisting of renaissance artwork. And there she was. Standing with her back towards him, she was studying a painting in repose, completely oblivious to his presence. His eyes roved down her body clad in a sheath-like gold dress.

"Caroline," he whispered, needing her to face him.

He saw her back stiffen as she stood up straight at the sound of his voice. She turned to face him slowly, almost hesitantly. "Klaus."

His body sighed as she breathed his name. His Caroline. She was here.

"What are you doing here?" she asked warily.

Her apprehension surprised him. She obviously wasn't pleased at their chance encounter as he was. The thought miffed him, putting him on the defensive. "This is a gallery, Caroline. I'm an artist. Or have you completely forgotten me?"

Caroline tilted her head to the side and sighed in exasperation. "I wish it were that easy."

Her words pleased him. _So she's accepted that there is no escaping it._

"The better question, love," he spoke walking toward her, "is what are _you_ doing here?"

She could have lied, but Klaus had the uncanny ability to see through her. She doubted any amount of time would change that.

"I'm here on a special job," she replied vaguely.

"A job?" he asked, confused.

"Yes! A job! I'm not the same girl you left behind, Klaus. I've done more in my life than you could imagine," she said indignantly.

Oh, he could certainly imagine. In fact, up until a few years ago, he had known exactly what she had been up to. He had his men keep tabs on her throughout the years, reporting when necessary. But then a few years ago, she had started spending some time with someone else, someone who had men of his own.

Klaus could easily have gotten information if he wanted, but he knew it would arouse suspicion in the man she had gotten involved with. That would lead to Caroline finding out about his keeping an eye on her, and he didn't want that.

So he had backed off. Trusted she was safe. The man was a human, after all. What harm could he bring to a vampire of Caroline's caliber?

"I have no doubt you have been productive over the years, sweetheart. I'm just curious as to what it is you do. Purchasing a painting for an art collector, perhaps? Or something to hang in a boutique of your own?" he ventured.

Caroline rolled her eyes at the pure girly-girl image he had of her. _Isn't he in for a surprise?_

Looking him straight in the eye, Caroline told him the truth. "I'm here to steal a painting for a client who has offered me an absurd amount of money that I'm going to use to buy myself a small island. It's not a _boutique _that I work for, Klaus," she spat at him, disgusted with the idea. "It's the black market."

Klaus absorbed this information without even a twitch of an eye to betray his thoughts. Slowly he nodded. "Well, I see you have made a way for yourself. Dirtied up the perfect edges you had. Lost our scruples even," he said with a hint of mockery and pride. "But you've come to the most secure gallery in this side of Italy. Tell me what it is you're here for, Caroline. I can help you get it. I promise."

Caroline had noticed the security detail as she perused the gallery. She had actually been trying to come up with a plan she could execute that night as she walked around observing the gallery, when Klaus came up behind her. This threw her for a loop, but she knew she could use his help. "Kieran won't like this," she muttered to herself.

He wasn't meant to, but Klaus heard. _Kieran… is that her human cohort? _"Who's Kieran?" he asked out loud.

Caroline would never admit to the pleasure she felt hearing his heavily veiled jealousy. "He's my _in_ to the black-market business." With a smug smile, she added, "and he's my boyfriend."

Klaus saw the challenge in her eyes and accepted it. "Is that so?" he said moving in on her.

Caroline regretted adding that last part as she stepped back to keep him from touching her. "It is so," she said as her back met the wall. She needed him to back off. One touch from Klaus and she knew it was game-over. She'd be back in his arms, back where she always wanted to be, but she wouldn't let him have the satisfaction of knowing it.

Klaus braced his arms on the wall on either sides of her face, his body caging her in. Caroline hated herself for the hitch in her breathing his proximity caused her.

"Speaking of," she said hoping to distract him. Touching the earphone she had hidden with her free flowing hair, she spoke to the man on the other line while keeping her eyes on Klaus. "Kieran, we have company."

Klaus stopped his lips descent six inches away from her lips as she spoke to the human through the device in her ear.

"_Who is it, sweetheart? Do you need me to come in?"_ Klaus heard his voice as it rang in her ear.

"No!" Caroline practically screamed at the thought of Klaus and Kieran meeting. Kieran could handle himself in any situation, vampires included, but Klaus would make a meal of him in seconds. "I mean, no. I've got it. He's… a friend," she said staring Klaus down. "I trust him."

Klaus rolled his eyes at her blatant attempt to get him to acquiesce. Pushing off the wall, he stepped away from her. He could go along with her plan for now.

"So what is it we're here to steal?" Klaus asked as she ended the connection with Kieran.

"A painting. _L'amour Eternel," _she told him, grateful that he had backed off.

Klaus narrowed his eyes at her. "The painting isn't as old as most of the work here," she explained to him. "It's actually quite recent, so you might not have heard of it. Only problem is, when my client tried to buy it legitimately, the artist refused to sell. That's why she came to us."

Klaus nodded. "I believe I have heard of it. But it's not hung in display. It's in one of the storage rooms for now."

"How do you know this?" Caroline asked, suspicion tinting her voice.

"I donate a generous sum to this gallery to keep my work well displayed. That and the fact that these people have heard the legends of the monsters the original family are gives me access to most everything here," he finished with the smirk she still saw in her dreams.

Not letting herself get carried away in him again, Caroline shook her head. "Right, so how do we get to the painting?"

Klaus lifted his eyebrows. "Easy," he said, pulling an access card from his coat pocket. "We walk right in."

Caroline shook her head at the ease with which Klaus worked and followed him as he walked towards the offices.

The employees at the gallery all nodded in greeting as they walked by, making Caroline a little nervous. She was used to getting in and out of locations undetected, so this was definitely not her level of operating.

Walking into the storage room, Klaus took her all the way to the back of the room and pulled open a large crate. Inside were about ten paintings, securely covered to protect the art. Klaus read over the tags and pulled one out. "Here we are. _L'amour Eternel," _he said, holding it out to her.

"_Eternal Love._ I wonder what's so special about it_,_" she mused at the title.

"People are infatuated with the idea. Have been since the beginning of time. Only when they find it do they realize it is a curse, not the paradise they assumed," Klaus answered, his eyes never leaving her face.

"Right… well, thanks… I guess I'm going to go…" Caroline said, unable to take the intensity in his eyes.

As she turned to go, Klaus grabbed her arm to spin her around. "One question first. You owe me that much at least."

Caroline studied him. Knowing she was going to regret it, she nodded slowly.

"Kieran… does it compare? Does it even come close?" If he was going to let her walk out on him, he needed to know what it was for.

Caroline saw the war in his eyes and turned away before she got swept in again. "Nothing compares," she said, walking away before he could stop her again, because if he did, she knew she'd stay.

It was with a tired and beaten heart that she presented the painting to Kieran with.

"Here it is! If it was meant to be our last job, it was by far the best one, my dear!" Kieran exclaimed as he carefully uncovered the art.

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked. If he asked her, it was by far the easiest.

"Stealing a Klaus Mikaelson painting right from under his nose! His gallery is boasted to have the best security, but you breached it without a sweat. You're extraordinary, Caroline," he said, leaning over to peck the lips of a very stunned Caroline.

_His painting. His gallery._ _He helped me steal… from him?_ It didn't make sense.

But when Kieran drew back the last layer keeping the painting hidden, everything fell into place.

It was them. Klaus and her sealed together in a kiss, with blood running from their lips to their bare chests. His hands in her curls, hers gripping his face, it was them without a doubt in her mind. Kieran wouldn't notice, but she did.

_L'amour Eternel._ Eternal Love. This was _Klaus's_ love…

That night, she whispered good-bye to a peacefully sleeping Kieran as she took the last painting she ever stole and left.

It may have been love with Kieran, but the words she spoke to Klaus were true. Nothing compared to what they had. Nothing ever would.

If she ever forgot, she would be reminded by the two painting she had hung in her new home, miles away from Kieran.

The first painting she had ever stole. And the last.

"_She's both shadow and light._

_She's both surrender and fight._

_She wears her heart on her clothes,_

_And her scars always remember…"_

**Okay, So first, I'm soooo incredibly sorry for the late update! This chapter was just harder than most to write! I had a severe case of writer's block, but then I got to the Klaroline scene and it all flowed out :)**

**I know many of you don't like other characters coming between these two, but think of all the time that's passing! They have to try to move on so they can realize there _is no moving on from each other._ They have to go through some tough times before they can get to their happily ever after ;)**

**Also, I've been procrastinating writing this oneshot by making graphics for Loved in Shades of Wrong. Check it out on my blog if you get a chance. I'll put a link in my profile!**

**This chapter was really difficult to write. I mean RIDICULOUSLY difficult. I only got through it with the help of all my reviewers who wouldn't let me forget about this story:**

**crimsonseer12, glevez25, Taylor Snape13, Rucky, justine, HelloCutePanda, zingolies, jessnicole, Aaammber, NuzNuz, KlarolinexDelenaxx, louann97, Estel la Rodeuse, Tigerchild1, Booklover9477, JenerasX, Carelle, whisperslove, Coolgirl1015, MissPopuri, chikchirik, crazyrawrx3, Rianeliza, fangler, Rose Jean Black, and all the guests, thank you soooo much for reviewing!**

**Honestly, I was about to quit this fic because of the writer's block. It was the non-stop reviews on this and people who went back and read the previous fic that inspired me to keep going, so please don't stop reviewing. Harass me on my tumblr, spam my inbox, leave me long-winded reviews that just won't let me quit on this story! I would hate myself if I did. **

**Review! Pretty please with JoMo on top? Thank you!**

**Only one short one-shot left, and then we're back to a full blown fic again!**


	5. Boom

**Warning: smut-ish. Maybe. I don't know. Is it?**

"_I'm getting myself in something I don't want to.__  
__I'm getting caught up in him but I don't want to.__  
__I'm getting off track __and I can't control a thing…"_

Caroline sensed him the second she walked into the heavily-congested club. Well… not him exactly. She just sensed the same force of energy she was usually enveloped in whenever she encountered the man that had haunted her for the past fifty-something years.

She had been avoiding Klaus and everything they could be quite religiously. Mostly because he and all the trappings that came with associating with him were the only things that could scare her these days.

_Klaus and Mystic Falls, _she thought to herself. The two things she avoided like the plague. Klaus was perhaps easier to avoid, but her home town had been calling her back lately. Part of Caroline wanted to go home again, but she was afraid of what awaited her when she returned.

_Another story, another day,_ she told herself and put her mind back at ease and enjoyed the hum of pleasure she felt being surrounded by the same feeling Klaus invoked in her.

In the past, it would have given her palpitations. Caroline would have panicked at anything that even slightly reminded her of him, but today, after all the years she had spent away from him, she could relish in it.

She wasn't so far gone that she couldn't admit to herself she missed him. She did. Caroline missed Klaus fiercely. She missed the way he knew her. She missed the way he wanted her.

She especially missed the way he made her want him.

Before Klaus, Caroline had not been the type to go for something she wanted if it was not something that was expected of her. In Mystic Falls, she had been the typical blonde, all-American girl-next-door, complete with the football boyfriend. She had two of them, actually. If some event happened in that town, one assumed Caroline was in charge.

That was her human life. When Katherine killed her and caused her to become a vampire, Caroline had promised herself not to lose who she had been, as easily as she had lost her life.

And then Klaus came around. And suddenly, all the things that had been so important to her became trivial. Klaus made her long for the life being a vampire allows you to lead. He opened her mind to possibilities she hadn't even considered.

Klaus was dangerous and so wrong for her. He made her change the person she used to be and had tried so hard to hold on to. And she thanked him for it.

So today, in remembrance of the man she had known for such a brief period in her life, the man who showed her the freedom vampirism allowed, she let go of all the bad feelings she had harbored for him. Caroline let herself get lost in the feel of that same energy Klaus emoted and was so very rare in the world.

She allowed herself to be led to the middle of the dance floor by the new friend she had made in this town. It was a town much like her home town, where vampires roamed openly, the human population oblivious of their presence. The town was upscale and vampire infested. Caroline had heard rumors of the town from vampires she had met in some of her travels.

Finding out it existed was thrilling for Caroline. It was much like being home without the burden that came with it. And Caroline wanted to avoid that burden as long as she could.

Some places became more dangerous the longer you stayed away.

After an hour of dancing to the heart thumping music, Caroline turned to her friend, Ava, and asked, "Is the club always this… pumped? "

Never missing a step, Ava threw her head back with a tinkling laugh that had made Caroline like her instantly. She had such a genuine zest for life and enjoyed everything to the fullest. Being a vampire hadn't taken her joy of living away. If anything, it had increased it. Along with the thrill of knowing she could live forever, Ava had discovered the adrenaline junkie that lived within her.

She tried everything and anything that could have killed her, just so she can defy death over and over as a vampire. Caroline enjoyed the recklessness with which Ava lived. It was invigorating.

"Well, it's always a good place to lose yourself dancing, but there is something different tonight. You-know-who is here," she said in her husky voice, shimmying closer.

Caroline honestly had no idea what Ava was talking about. "Voldemort?"

Ava grabbed Caroline's hand and spun her around. Pulling her back, Ava captured both her wrists and threw her hands up in the air, causing Caroline to giggle and whip her head around in enjoyment.

"Oh, Caro," Ava exclaimed, shortening Caroline's name to her liking, "for someone who's been around a while, you sure are uneducated in the world of vampires. It's a good thing you found me. I'll teach you everything you need to know, sugar."

Caroline had no doubt that Ava would keep her word. She looked forward to keeping this friendship as she had no other. "So tell me, who's here today?"

"_Him_. The king of our kind." Ava said, matter-of-factly.

A sense of apprehension took over Caroline even as she tried to ignore it. _Can't be…_

Not letting her anxiety show, Caroline continued bouncing on her feet and shook her head at Ava to say she didn't know who she was talking about.

Ava rolled her eyes, and once again grabbed her hand to spin her around. Only when Caroline's back was to her front, she grabbed on to her hips and continued swaying to the fast-paced beat. Pointing her finger straight ahead, Ava practically hummed, "_him."_

Caroline followed her direction to look at the one man her eyes had been starved for. _Of course. _This was her life. _Their fate._ It always put them in each other's path.

_It wasn't reminiscent of his energy. It _was _his energy, _Caroline realized.

Caroline hadn't realized her smile had turned appreciative of the view until Ava pulled her back. "Down, girl," Ava said with another giggle. "Don't even bother. He doesn't come here often, only once or twice a year, but when he does, every girl within a ten-mile radius is vying for his attention. He rarely notices."

It was subtle, she almost missed it, but Caroline heard the hurt in Ava's tone that let her know her friend had been one of the over-looked.

_I could get him to notice me… and more._

Caroline hadn't realized she said the last part aloud until Ava continued, "I'll hand it to you, sweetheart, you've got the blonde look he prefers going on, but he's just so… unattainable, you're better off focusing your energy on one of the lesser immortals in the club tonight, if you want a guy."

Oh, Caroline wanted a guy alright. But he hadn't noticed her yet. He was too busy studying the contents of the glass he held, but Caroline would soon remedy that. In the past she would have snuck out before he could see her. But not tonight.

Tonight, Caroline was going to court the devil himself.

"_Boom shalaka he's walking up to me.__  
__Boom shalaka he starts to talk to me  
__My heart skips a boom…"_

There was not a single power on Earth that could keep Klaus from noticing Caroline Forbes, even if he wanted it to. Not that he wanted it to.

He had resigned himself to being apart from her all these years, to give her space to grow and decide just what she wanted for herself.

She'd come to him in her own time. He firmly believed it. Yet, fate had a way of making their paths cross again and again.

He should walk out. He knew he should just turn around and leave, because just being in the same room with her and not being able to touch her was a form of hell in its own. But Klaus wouldn't move, couldn't leave. He had become addicted to this pain. It was his drug.

Looking down at his drink, Klaus wondered when exactly he had become a masochist.

And then Caroline noticed him. Klaus braced himself for the encounter he knew was coming.

Meeting her eyes, he watched as Caroline lifted her hands to tangle in her own hair, lifting her long golden locks off her shoulders and letting them trickle down in almost a waterfall out of her hands. Never letting her gaze stray from his, Caroline brought her hands down to caress her neck, tilting her head back to expose the white column to him, daring him to come get a little taste.

Klaus's eyes flickered at the challenge, before he felt himself move towards her. He was not, after all, a man to turn down a dare.

The herd of dancers parted to make way for him. Not that he asked, or forced. Just his powerful presence was enough to make others, human or otherwise, move back out of his way. He easily maneuvered his way between her and Ava, replacing Ava's hands on her hips with his.

Caroline sighed at the contact, never halting her provocative swaying. _This. _This was what she had wanted all these years and had been running from. For the life of her, she couldn't remember why.

Leaning her head back to rest on his shoulder, Caroline spoke huskily, "I hear you have a thing for blondes."

Carline felt his chest rumble as he growled in her ear, "just one."

The salacious smile that graced her lips was one of pure feminine pleasure. Tilting her head back, she watched as he mirrored her smile, his eyes reflecting secrets only they knew.

Keeping her back pressed against his front, Caroline lifted one hand to grasp his neck and moved the other hand to grab hold of his hip to move him in time with her slow swaying. Klaus allowed her control of their movements. Encircling her waist, he rested his hands on her stomach, under her flimsy black halter top. The feel of his hands on her skin made each of her nerve endings tingle in excitement.

Klaus could feel her blood simmering in anticipation, and hid his knowing smile by burying his head in the crook of her neck, his lips resting on her pulse point.

They had danced together before, and each time it had amazed her how well they fit together. It was almost as if she were made for him. _Maybe they were made for each other._

With that thought in mind, Caroline turned to face him, never removing body contact. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Caroline shivered at the feel of his fingers gliding up her back.

The club was crowded to the max, but she knew all eyes were on them. _And ears,_ she thought remembering the vampire population. She knew they were all probably wondering at their blatant show of intimacy, but she didn't care. Meeting Klaus's lust-filled gaze, she knew he didn't either.

And then it occurred to her, _he was marking her as his in front of everybody. _Tongues would wag, and by morning the entire town would know she belonged to him, and she wasn't to be harmed or touched.

It should upset her, but under the spell of the night, music, dancing, whatever you want to call it, she couldn't bring herself to care. In fact, if anything, it thrilled her to be so publicly claimed. Klaus had always kept their encounters private. Others knew of his fascination with her, but none knew the words he spoke to her, causing her to want him just as bad as he wanted her.

This open claim was different. And Caroline could take it no longer. "I want…"

Klaus tightened his grip on her as she whispered the words in his ear. "What?" he growled harshly, trying to restrain himself. He was a God-damned Original, but the woman in his arms was testing his control.

"You."

The softly spoken word broke the tenuous grip he had on himself, causing him to breathe in sharply through his teeth. Not caring who saw and the consequences that would follow, Klaus gripped Caroline's thighs and lifted her off her feet, not letting go until he had sped her into the apartment he kept in town.

Caroline felt her breath whoosh out as her back was slammed against a wall. Opening her eyes, she gave the dark lit room a cursory glance before fixing her gaze on the man feasting himself on the sight of her pressed between the hard wall and his equally hard body.

"We've been here before," Caroline said, giving him a small smile.

Klaus's mind went back to the time he had pushed her against the wall in anger, thinking (rightly so) that she had betrayed him. It had started in anger, but ended in pleasure. _Hers._

"If you remember that, love, you remember the feeling that followed... what I made you feel," Klaus said, bringing her legs to wrap around his waist.

Caroline instinctively tightened her legs, bringing him closer to her. "Mmm, maybe you could remind me?"

Flashing her a quick grin, he spoke in that sexy, low-tone that sent her heart racing, "my pleasure."

Threading her fingers into his hair, Caroline tilted his face and quipped, "no, mine."

Satisfied with having the last word, she leaned away from the wall and fused her lips with his.

Fireworks are what people hear during an epic kiss. Caroline didn't hear any fireworks. She heard silence. Complete silence.

It was as if the entire world ceased to exist. And it was just them. His lips on hers, her hands on his face, and their bodies fighting for dominance.

In the end, Caroline won, pushing them off the wall so that Klaus staggered back until the backs of his knees hit a chair. Collapsing on it gratefully, he reared up to retain contact with her hot mouth, but it slid down his neck pressing teasing kisses as it went.

Klaus leaned back in the chair, allowing her to straddle him closer. His eyes closed on a sigh of pleasure as he thought, _finally._

After years of dreaming and day-dreaming Caroline was finally back in his arms, and this time he had no intention of ever letting go. A smile played on his lips as he whispered, "so much for '_perhaps in a century.'_ We barely made it through _half _a century."

Caroline sat up at his words and narrowed her eyes at him in consideration. Her skin still glistened from the exertion of dancing, her chest still heaved from the passion rising in her, but Klaus saw the mental pull-back. Something was going on in that head of hers, and Klaus knew he wouldn't like it.

Moving her hands to the neckline of his shirt, Caroline said, "you sound disappointed."

Klaus gave a dry laugh and pushed her damp curls out of her face. "I am. In myself. I had thought I could hold out longer. Hold up my end of the bargain."

Caroline pursed her lips and nodded. Slowly. Calculatingly.

Before Klaus could ask what she was thinking, Caroline pulled at the fabric in her hands and ripped his shirt right down the middle. He gasped at the suddenness of her action, but his eyes gleamed in anticipation of her next moved.

Caroline knew in that moment everything had flown out of his head except the thought of having her mouth on him again. With a sly smile, she gave him what he wanted.

Trailing her lips down his neck to his chest, Caroline stopped just above his heart and flicked her tongue at his skin. Her lips curled up at the sound of his sharp intake of breath. Wanting to draw out his pleasure, Caroline bit into his skin and drew blood.

Klaus's eyes grew hooded with his growing desire. Caroline felt the evidence as she wiggled down his lap, teasing him just a little more.

As she moved lower, Caroline repeated her torture of kissing and biting, until his chest was completely marked by her fangs, blood dripping in rivulets. Klaus's eyes flickered at the sight of his blood on her lips and couldn't take it anymore. He pulled her back on top of him, and slammed his lips onto hers, joining them in a heated, bloody kiss.

Caroline gave in for a bit, as he gripped her bottom harshly and violently ground her hips with his. It drove her crazy, this pleasure-pain.

When she knew they were both on the brink of exploding, Caroline removed his hands from her and stood up.

Rubbing her hip where he had held her, Caroline knew she'd be wearing his bruises tonight. Just as he'd be wearing her bites.

"Caroline…" Klaus breathed, bewildered at her retreat.

"Still your game, Klaus. It was still your game," Caroline spoke, proud that her voice didn't quaver and betray the unsteady pulse that beat within her.

"What is this, Caroline?" Klaus growled, anger now rising.

"This is me walking away from you. This is me beating you at your own game. You wanted to wait a century, I'll give you that damn century. Just know that it was me who walked away. _I_ held out longer. _I_ won."

Licking away the remnants of his blood on her lips, Caroline wondered if she was going to regret this.

But no. Her need to have the upper-hand on him _for once_ won out. Each time _he_ had the will to walk away from her, but this time, when he was too far gone to walk away, she would finally show him that she was just as strong as him. An equal.

Smoothing down her top, she turned and opened the door to his apartment. Throwing one last look over her shoulder, Caroline whispered, "But just so you know, this will be the last time we walk away from this. Next time… we finish it."

"_I'm telling myself it's not a good idea,__  
__But the more I hesitate, the more I fall for him.__  
__I'm trying to erase his face from my memory…"_

**Yay, last one! I'm done :D Now as for the next part of this story...**

**It'll be a 10 chapter fic that has been mapped out, just needs to be put on paper. I just want to know if y'all are still interested in this story and want me to continue? Or should I just leave it here for your imaginations to complete to your satisfaction? IF I continue it, it will be a fic called "Reckless."**

**Also, I need to decide if it will be M-Rated from the start, or if I should just write it and change the rating if I feel it's necessary. The content will be darker than the previous parts. It'll be a full century after their first parting. Caroline will be a little out-of-control, and it'll be up to Klaus to decide if he likes her this way or wants his old Caroline back. AND I'm done with new characters. All the old familiar faces of TVD will be back :)**

**If this ends up being the end (because I do have other fic ideas in mind. One completely AU) then I would like to take the time to thank all the reviewers! You all kept me going this long, so thank you to:**

**glevez25, HelloCutePanda, LisHous69, msredekop, Vamptragic, Quicklove202, Bella5853, patie, justine, crimsonseer12, bridgetzombie, chikchirik, LoTS-Fanatic, Amnex, Wilder than the wind, mscarson1369, i'm in the looney bin, and the guests!**

**So now, thoughts? Review, review, review. Please and thank you!**

**And follow me on tumblr: givemelovelikeklaroline**


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